Hi everyone,

Awhile back, I posted a thread trying to diagnose a high-pitched metallic noise that starts up once I've been driving for 15-20 minutes, and has been getting progressively louder. I took it to my stealership last week (for a different problem) and mentioned the noise to them...they said they couldn't diagnose it, so they said they banged some heat shield back in to place...buncha crap.

I took of my front passenger side tire last night, and my brake pad has clearly become separated from the backing (sorry, don't know the proper terminology...but my two buddies who are very knowledgeable looked and verified that its broken). The pad is just kinda floating there, sitting about a quarter-inch lower than it should. It also looks pretty worn and crappy.

Question #1: Bought this car 2 months ago, and the pads were fine...an independent inspection said they had about 75% life on them. Now this one is shot? The drivers side pad is fine, so I'm not sure what could be wrong. I did blow my passenger side tire a few weeks ago...I had noticed the noise before then, but it was much quieter. The tire blew from a nail, not a giant pothole, so I don't know if that would be enough to knock the pad loose. Do pads just randomly break?

Question #2: I told my stealership that I was hearing a noise from the front passenger side wheel....HOW THE HELL did they not notice the freakin brake pad?!? Its obvious just by looking at it, and I would think that the breaks would be an obvious place to start when trying to troubleshoot a noise. If I hadn't noticed it myself, had the pad fall off on me and started grinding metal, there would've been hell to pay...

I'm gonna have the stealership look at it to see if there are any bigger problems causing this...but if it's just a pad replacement, I can handle that myself for much cheaper. Probably get the parts from ECS...maybe the PBR/Axxis Metal Masters for $75. Any recommendations on what pads? And what's the diff between "round connector" and "square rounded connector"?

Thanks for making life easy fellas, I appreciate it.

-Jazz

 

I had the same problem on my rear PS brake pads. They were worn and the rear DS weren't. They were also squealing. Problem was my caliper was bad and the pads weren't releasing when they got hot. I can alsmost guarantee you it's your caliper. Drive around for a while and brake heavily. Stop the car and touch both your front wheels. They should be warm but not not too hot to touch. If one of them is, your brakes are sticking and either your caliper is bad or your brake line is pinched somewhere (most likely the caliper though). Good luck! Oh, and by the way, dealers suck!!! They'll tell whatever they can just to shut you up.

 

Yeah man, this is about my 4th time back in two months....certified preowned my ***.

I had my guy at a local import shop look at it....after cruising around, my front passenger tire was at running hot....250 degrees compared to 190 on the other 3. Can't believe they didn't notice it.

I'm still on the original warrenty...think they'll cover a new pad and a caliper? I can do the pads myself, but not sure about caliper....think the PBR/Axxis Metal Masters from ECS will be a solid purchase if I end up doing the brakes?

Have a lovely set of stratches on my bumper all of the sudden....arrrgh!! Every time I think its finally perfect, something else breaks! Welcome to the Audi family....

 

If the caliper is bad they should cover it, and associated damage such as the pad, and if necessary the rotors. Of course, pads should be replaced in pairs.